mk1 early door handles - am I right that I forgot this?

General Chat with an emphasis on BMC Minis & Other iconic cars of the 1960's.
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AndyPen
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mk1 early door handles - am I right that I forgot this?

Post by AndyPen »

Just been polishing up the best of a selection of door handles that I have, and have been trying to recall how to fit them (its been a while). I go online and order the screws and little cover cylinders, then realise my genuine handle escutcheon doesn't have holes for the screws???

At this point my brain suggested that on the mini it was only the self tapper on the end of the square section that held it all in? Is my brain cell right??

door handle components.jpg
inner door handles.jpg
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Dearg1275
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Re: mk1 early door handles - am I right that I forgot this?

Post by Dearg1275 »

Yep, the early cars didn’t have the retaining screws.

D
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Peter Laidler
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Re: mk1 early door handles - am I right that I forgot this?

Post by Peter Laidler »

Just the inboard self tapper! Who'd have thought that? I'd be drilling and tapping (2BA?) if it were me.

On mine I also slightly angled the door side of the rounded sleeves to give then full contact area with the door and bolt
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Re: mk1 early door handles - am I right that I forgot this?

Post by 360gts »

Andy, the self tapper has a flat head and they also had a small flat washer.
Pretty coarse thread on those screws.
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Re: mk1 early door handles - am I right that I forgot this?

Post by Old English White »

Yes, that sounds exactly right to me too.
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Re: mk1 early door handles - am I right that I forgot this?

Post by AndyPen »

Just goes to show what you forget over time eh? MiniSpares do replacement ones with the screw threads and as one of my originals looks like we polished it with wire wool (oops), I think that's the way to go for me. Relying on the self tapper clearly worked, but as Peter noted, I'm a little uncomfortable relying on just that.

Thanks folks, from me and the brain cell that brought it to my attention ;-)
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